Faucet for gas-charged liquids



July 21, 1953 v J, SCHOR 2,646,073 vFAUCET FOR GAS-CHARGED LIQUIDS FiledJan. 2a. 195o JOSEPH SCHUH /7/19 ATTORNEY vfoam is fiat and unpalatable.

aienteclv July 2l, 1953" UNITED STATES PATENT". OFFICE j FAUCET FORGAS-,canarino Lloums Joseph Schor, SanrFrancisco, Calif. ApplicationJanuary 2s, 1950, Vserial No. v140,987

My invention relates to faucets and particularly to faucets fordispensing'gas-charged liquids from a container, such for example asbeer from a keg. l A

The principal object of my invention isfto control the premature escapeof gas from the liquid which causes excessive foaming. *l

The invention has other objects which will be explained in the followingdescription of that form of the invention which is illustrated in thedrawings. It is to be understood that the invention is not limitedto-this single embodiment, but may be included' in a plurality of formsas set forth in the claims. f 1

Referring to the drawings: v y

Figure' 1 is a side elevation, partly in vertical section, of one of myfaucets. The faucet is shown mounted ona panel, and with a part of thecoupling and yhose through which'the liquid flows to the faucet. Figure2 isa cross section taken in the plane indicated by the `=line 2-2 ofFigure l. Figure 3 is also a cross section 'taken' in the My inventionis adaptable to the serving of any carbonated or gas-charged beverageliquid, but for purpo'ses' of this specification, 'it will be explainedas it is applied to the dispensing of beer from a keg.

In dispensing draft beer, it is customary in theUnited States to keepthe keg from whichthe beer is to .be drawn in a cold chamber close tothepanel' upon which the faucet is'inounted The kegs are usually deliveredfrom the brewery with an internal pressure of 8 to 12 pounds per squareinch, and as the beer is drawn off, this pressure is convenientlymaintained by suitable connection witha source of gas under pressure,such as an oxygen tank.

Pressure in the keg is of course necessary to prevent the escape of theCO2 gas with which the beer is charged as a result of fermentation. Aswith all such carbonated liquids, the discharge of cold beer from therelatively high pressure in the keg into the relatively low pressure ofthe Warmer atmosphere, allows the dissolved carbonating gas to escapewithin a few moments; and since beer is rich in lm or bubble formingsubstances, a great deal of foaming can occur. Beer without With toomuch foam considerable waste occurs, and it is dinicult to drink withoutswallowing undesirable quantities of the charging gas and inspiringcomplaints of short measure by the customer. At the same time it must berecognized that a certain quantity of foam is not only an attractive36'- able axially thereinis a feature but because o f the effect of theCO2 gas inthe bubbles contributes denite Values to taste and enjoymentof the beverage. It is therefore of great importancein the dispensing ofbeer'to be able to draw into the glass a .still heavily because of theattractiveness of transparency,-

and easy workability.`-

The extension is provided with a flangev 5A which-fits against the panel6 on which the fau-r cet is mounted; a nut l threaded on the shank 8yholding all in place. A flexible plastic hose connection 9,detachably-secured to the shank in a conventional manner connects thefaucet tothe bottom of the keg of beer.

A passage I2 extends through. the. extension,

and into the central portion of the head, at which pointitj opens int0,a C onical chamber I 3,;.at its i base joining a cylindrical chamberv I4.V Snugly tting in the cylindrical chamber and adjustplug I6 havingaconifr cal end I 'I of the same' engular values as the chamber so that.the plug may be pushed into the chamber to completely close it. Suchaxial adjustment is secured by the gland-like adjustment ring I8,threaded on the lower end of thehead and engaging the lower end of theplug. A deformable rubber gasket ring- I9 seals the joint between headand plug.

At the base of the conical end of the plug, a circular groove 2U isformed faround the plug; and radial passages 2I connect the groove withthe chamber 22 in the center of the plug. The chamber is the upper endof a recess, the lower end of which is threaded to receive the threadedend of the tube 23, in which the passage 2li eX- tends from a valve seatforming the bottom of chamber 22, to the lower end of the tube where thepassage opens linto radial slots 21. A gasket ring 28, between the endof the plug I6 and the tube flange 29, insures a tight joint betweenplug and tube; and flange 30 overlying the edge of the ring I8, formswith the end of the plug a groove in which the 'edge of the ring lies,so that adjustment ring and the tube-plug unit are connected forrelative rotation but not for relative axial movement. Thus the positionof the conical end l1 in the chamber I3 is subject to fine adjustment byrotation of the adjustment ring.

Seated on the valve seat 26 is a stainless steel ball 3| to which isattached a stem 32, extending down through the tube and ending in thebutton 33 threaded on the end of the stem, so that upward pressure onthe button, such as would be exerted by the inside bottom of a beerglass held up against the tube, raises the ball valve, seats the button33 across the end of the passage 24, and permits beer to ow through thehead and out radially at the bottom of the tube.

Upon release of pressure on thebutton, valve closes being held on itsseat both by gravity The manner of use in drawingv a glass Ofbeers thusclear; and since only one hand for the handling ofthe glass is required,the location-of two faucets twelve or fourteen inches apart permits twoglasses, one in each hand, to be lled at once, the eyes being easilycapable of Watching both rising collars and lowering the glasses to stopthe flow just as the foam startsto overow. It is also entirely feasiblewhere handled glasses are used to locate two faucets with the tubesabout three inches apart so that two glasses are grasped in but one handand both filled simultaneously. Because of the substantiallyinstantaneous control of the flow, a great deal of waste may be avoidedby lowering the glass from contact with the button at the properinstant. This is easily learned after a few tries.

Beforerputting the faucet into operation the ring I8 is adjusted toleave a very thin gap or space between the conical faces of plug andhead chamber. This is measured in thousandths of an inch and each faucetmust be adjusted for thevbeer which is to be served through it,temperature, gas content, composition and 1Keg pressure all beingfactors. VAdjustment actually is simple; and turning the ring one way orthe other to vary the vertical or axial position of the plug in theconed chamber gives the desired result after one or two experimentalglasses have been drawn. 1

I am not entirely described gives the sought result. It seems clear fromexperiment that the spacing between plug conev andr coned chamber iscontrolling in the'A over-all result of discharging beer into thebotthebauf l and by gas pressure in the line back to the keg.

tom of the glass with no prior release or at most a very small releaseof absorbed gas.

I claim:

l. A faucet for gas-charged liquids, comprising a head having a passagetherethrough including a conical chamber, a conical plug disposed in thechamber, means for varying the spacing of the plug from the wall of thechamber'to vary the flow of liquid therearound in the head passage, atube extending from the head and having a passage therethrough incontinuation of the head passage, a valve controlling the tube passageand normally closed by pressure of liquid ,in thefhead passage, andmeans for lifting the valve.

2. Afaucet-for gas-charged liquids, comprising a head having a passagetherethrough includin'g a conical chamber, a conical plug disposed j Iin the chamber, a gland threaded on the head to sure just why thestructure adjust the spacing of the plug from the wall of the chamber tovary the flow of liquid through the spacebetween the adjacent surfacesof plug and chamber Wall, a deformable gasket ring between the head andthe gland, a tube extending from the head and having a passagetherethrough in continuation of the head passage, a Valve controllingthe tube passage and normally closed by pressure of liquid in the headpassage, and means for .lifting the valve.

3. A faucet for gas-charged liquids, comprising a head having a passagetherethrough including a kconical chamber, a hollow conical plugdisposed inthe chamber, the surface of the plug being spaced from thechamber Wall to provide a passage therebetween, said plug havingv apassage from the hollow to the surface of the plug in continuation ofthe passage between the plug and chamber wall, a tube fixed in the plugand extending from the head and having a passage therethrough incontinuation of the plug passage, a valve controlling the tube passageand normally closed by pressure of liquid in the plug passage, and meansfor lifting the valve.

JOSEPH SCI-IOR.

vrRefemwes cited in the me of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS NumberName kDate 854,108 Reynolds May 21, 1907 977,723 Field Dec. 6, 19102,217,876 Richardson Oct. 15, 1940

